Nightmare Commute as New Yorkers Head Back to Work After Hurricane Sandy

NEW YORK CITY — New Yorkers found themselves locked in a traffic nightmare Wednesday in the wake of deadly Hurricane Sandy, with jam-packed buses bypassing stops, nearly empty cabs driving past stranded New Yorkers and streets crammed to the gills with motorists.

Those who could get out of their houses to head to work, or just to pick up supplies, discovered chaos on the streets as the subways remained shuttered and bus service was limited, leaving them with hours-long commutes, especially in Brooklyn and Queens.

Several crossings into Manhattan, such as the Midtown and Battery tunnels, remained closed because of flooding, creating bottlenecks on the East River Bridges. And a large swath of lower Manhattan, which lost power during the storm, remained without traffic lights Wednesday, creating confusion at intersections.

Even the bike lanes on the bridges into Manhattan were hit with traffic jams.

“During the 1980 transit strike, we saw that, but not since. It’s been 32 years since we’ve seen anything like this," said traffic guru Sam Schwartz. "It’s unprecedented. That word has been over used recently, but what other word do we have.”

Inanc Uyar, 41, who lives near Prospect Park in Brooklyn, spent two-and-a-half hours getting to the furniture design business where he works in Tribeca — a trip that normally takes 35 minutes.

After waiting 45 minutes, he was finally able to get onto a bus. When he got to downtown Brooklyn, he encountered a traffic nightmare and decided to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.

"I have my bike at the office and I'm going to ride that home," he said.

The odyssey for Nita Halim, 52, began at 9 a.m. when she tried to get to her job at 53rd Street and Madison Avenue from her home in Park Slope.

After walking 20 minutes from her house, she caught a bus to downtown Brooklyn, spent 40 minutes walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and then hopped on an M5 bus to Midtown.

"I was here for September 11 and I was here for the blackout so I know the commute very well," she said. "It takes patience and perseverance and the will to go to work."

On the Upper East Side, side streets and the avenues were jammed in the 80s. Buses were locked bumper-to-bumper for blocks on Second Avenue, unable to move and emergency crews were unable to get in to help manage the situation.

"It was crazy," said Andy Sze, 29 of his commute from Corona, Queens, to the cafe where he works on the Upper East Side. He said the trip that usually takes half an hour at 6:30 a.m. took three times as long. "The bridges are all packed."

Rohan Suresh said he spent 15 minutes on a bus going one block, from East 81st to East 80th streets, attempting to get to his IT job downtown.

"It took forever to cross one street," said Suresh, who decided to get off and walk to Lexington Avenue to try to catch a bus there instead.

When he realized it was no better, he took off walking. "It'll probably be faster."

A number of people decided to do the same, with several Midtown workers hoofing it in from Astoria.

Some bus riders in Bushwick, Brooklyn, said that they waited for hours for a bus while others ditched the trip to work entirely.

Jamie Alvarez, who lives in the neighborhood, said that he waited for the B56 for two hours on his way to downtown Brooklyn, where he works, bumping his half-hour commute to three hours.

"I had to take off of work, because I just can't do this everyday," he said. "I'm losing money, and the government isn't going to help me. I haven't been able to work all week. It's not fair to us."

He also said that a livery cab ride to work, which normally costs $15, was out of the question because it now cost $35.

Under the city's voluntary cab share program, the suggested fare for travel within the boroughs is $15 and $25 for between boroughs.

TLC spokesman Allan Fromberg said that it’s up to individual drivers and passengers to decide whether they want to pick up additional passengers.

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